On Cloud Nine
by merumoth
Summary: AU where Zero Two wasn't enough for APE's satisfaction, and as such, there are three more klaxosaur hybrids. A canon divergence where the Nines didn't start as elites, but became them - through high stress, extreme challenges, perseverance, interpersonal conflict, individual differences, developing a sense of identity, and forgetting what 'human' even means. [xposted @ao3/wattpad]
1. Chapter 1

[ it's hard to describe the whole scenario going on here, so i'm hoping everyone who reads will understand that and take it as it is!

i can't insert links in ffnet, so if you'd like an image reference of them all, please feel free to google up the 9's and i'll try to find a way to link a better image of the klaxotriplets at some point. ]

* * *

 **"Starting tomorrow, you will be part of a new squad."**

* * *

The sound of his footsteps echoes just a little, but as he turns a corner, a short-lived shriek jolts him completely out of his thoughts. The girl who he's just surprised flinches back a couple of steps away, before covering her mouth and scampering off, pigtails nearly slapping him in the face from how close she was. He's staring, watching her run behind someone else only a few feet more in front of him, momentarily distracting him from the glower of a second pair of eyes. This other pair, bright red ones, stare through his irises.

Oh.

Somehow, his eyes haven't shut to protect him from this burning glare drying up his confidence in seconds. As if evaluating his brain, or examining his pride, or anything equally intrusive, the glaring continues. He is petrified to the spot, even if only out of shock, his attention refusing to leave, and his eyesight still stuck there. It doesn't have a physical cause, he can somewhat register- but if she's staring this intently, there's nothing on his face besides a dumbstruck expression, right?

The strange spell of connection splits him off as soon as she shuts her eyes with a huff. Exhaling his lost breath, the mystery girl turns around and walks off, painfully slowly. The steps are sharp, even if her eyes were sharper. The other girl with the pigtails behind her watches his lack of movement shyly for just a moment more, before hurrying to catch up.

Although he's still watching, his thoughts are busy swimming around to try to place who these two are. Red eyes aren't normal, let alone ones that dangerous. Mint-green hair isn't, either. No ordinary parasite could catch him this off guard with just a single glare, and...

In retrospect, he distinctly remembers a pair of horns poking out from above her forehead.

Horns...

Does that mean-

* * *

Arriving to the meeting room early, his confidence and self-esteem feel prepared. With a knack for leadership, understanding the key components of how team interactions make or break the overall synergy, holding tight to the rules but with enough room to develop skills and a niche in the squad dynamic- he feels comfortable, and feels fully prepared to lead a new squad. Although there's bound to be an adjustment period, learning about each member of the new team won't take long at all.

But, the moment the doors slide apart, his confidence evaporates completely.

First, he's not early at all.

Second, everyone seated in the room has strange, unusual hair colors.

Third, those burning red eyes immediately find him.

Fourth, that pair of eyes does, indeed, have horns.

Fifth, there are two other pairs of eyes with horns above them, one being the shyer pair from the night before.

Sixth... he's realized that not all parasites are expressly human.

"Alpha," the woman up front speaks, eerily chipper, "Please come introduce yourself."

For a solid two seconds, his feet don't move at all. Once they do, he starts down the steps, feeling a strange chill in the room, even though he's wearing a full uniform. Is it possible to feel cold like that? It doesn't help that he loses his balance when he forgot that the last step on this segment of stairs is, indeed, the last step. The handrail he catches himself on is helpful from stopping him from tripping completely, but... he's still mentally off-balance.

Still, he's a leader. He'll be fine. He finishes the last set of steps down to the supervisor much more carefully, deep breaths all the way.

"My codename is... " he greets with a raised hand, bringing up a friendly smile, "Alpha."

The nickname feels so heavy on his tongue, and the performance anxiety hardly stops despite his relaxed greeting.

"As a new squad, there's plenty to do to get to know each other. A lot of room for adjusting, and a lot of work to become familiar. But- I'm hopeful that, once that's done, we can work together and surpass ourselves.

I look forward to meeting each one of you. Let's work hard, come together as a collective unit, and ensure humanity's continued survival on a greater scale."

Once he has finished his impromptu speech, he realizes there's a lot he wishes he'd said differently. It's a lot of oversight he'd rather have avoided by preparation ahead of time. However, doubting it now would remove his confident facade.

"Thank you, Alpha. You may sit down with the others now." He does.

Their supervisor nods once, the smile on her face not changing at all. It's mildly unnerving.

"I am 007," she holds her hands together by her thighs, bowing slightly. "Or, less formally, Nana. I'll be acting as the squad's supervisor. Please bring up any concerns or questions you have to myself, or Alpha."

There's a hand immediately shooting into the air from a different green-haired girl. "What are we in a new squad for?"

"This is an experimental squad." Nana doesn't miss a beat. "APE is seeking a team of exemplary parasites to act under their direct orders."

A collective gasp echoes, and one of them whistled appreciatively.

"For this purpose, you have been given codenames, in addition to your code number - please refer to each other by the codename. We will be testing each pair's compatibility, shifting partners to find the highest scores. There will be challenges, which we expect full effort to overcome them, and more. This is, in essence, an opportunity to better serve Papa and the council. Please treat it as such."

Another parasite, a blue-haired boy, hums under his breath. A red-head boy yawns, while the previous green-haired girl elbows him. Alpha distinctly hears him tell her to relax, while the girl frowns.

The tallest one, a purple haired boy, raises his hand halfway. "What are we going to do in the new squad? It'll be different, right?"

Nana tilts her head slightly, her smile finally faltering, even if only for a moment. "The duties will be similar, but with more freedom in how to accomplish them. The missions will be larger in scale than in normal squads."

Although the purple boy opens his mouth to say something, the green girl hops to her feet. "Oh, oh, will we get to meet Papa?!"

"With excellent performance, yes. You will be reporting to Papa directly if your test squad achieves desired results."

"... but what if we don't?" the blue boy asks, hesitantly.

The green girl looked so excited, grinning ear-to-ear, but she sinks when she hears the question.

"You'll most likely be sent back to your original squads, unless Papa decides otherwise... you'd do well to avoid that." Nana's answer doesn't help the mood of the room as it sinks further.

Alpha doesn't know what to make of that, either- there's a lot at stake here. Whatever the duties will be, he doesn't know much about them. He has to lead this entire squad of parasites he's never met, three of them the spitting image of those terrifying rumors, one with eyes that already seared a hole into his mind-

Nana speaks up again, though. "That is all. You are dismissed for today. Please make use of the day to prepare for your first mission." She bows again, leaving the room quietly while the third horned girl warns the red and green pair, who are more-or-less bickering.

Alpha returns the stares of the peach-haired shy girl and the red-eyed horned girl, making his best sheepish and gentle grin while excusing himself. He wants to clear his head before coming back to socialize and introduce himself more casually.

(The pressure seems like it might never end... Papa himself is watching, and as the designated leader, Alpha feels completely overwhelmed... )

* * *

Their first mission is the very next day, and Alpha knows little about his squad beyond names and first impressions. His partner is the same shy girl he almost ran into, two nights before.

"I'm Eta," she says, soft and quiet, fidgeting in nervousness. Standing in front of him, she glances up to his face, the smallest smile spreading on her face. "It's nice to meet you up close, Alpha."

"It's a pleasure, Eta." He returns the smile, a polite bow in response. He extends his hand, naturally.

However, she lifts hers as Alpha bends one knee down, holding her wrist, pressing the lightest kiss to the back of her hand. Naturally, she gasps, high-pitched and loud, but doesn't pull her hand away until he lets it go. Although he intended to help Eta feel welcome, the way she flushes deeply and blinks widely up at him, he wonders if he only succeeded in scaring her.

Adding to the shame, that scathing red glare is back in the corner of his vision...

Zeta.

Once Alpha flicks his eyes in that direction, and only his eyes, he shivers outright. It's cold, and only being in the stamen suit doesn't exactly help.

The feeling passes quickly, though, while Eta's shy face grins instead. She grabs his wrist now, lacing her fingers through his own - her hands are just as warm as her smile. Although he still hasn't moved his gaze back from Zeta, Gamma elbows her, and Alpha has never felt as relieved as he does now.

"Let's go, Alpha," Eta tugs on his hand eagerly. Even though he feels nervousness creep back, even without Zeta's incredible glares, Eta doesn't even let go of his hand until they've both climbed into the Franxx. She's sweet, but... will she be strong?

Alpha slides into the seat above Eta while she lays herself down in front, the handles extending behind her. When Alpha reaches for the handles, his hands shiver and he forces himself to breathe, again. Is this it? If he fails, will he be discharged from the squad?

She glances back at him with that same shy smile, reminding him he's not alone. It doesn't do much else, unfortunately... he just isn't sure if the rumors about horned parasites are true. Eta's hesitance doesn't help, either.

Breathe.

As she lowers her head and the hood rises, she lights on her spine begin to glow, trailing down as quickly as ever, even though his sense of time feels like it's in slow-motion. She connects easily, her paracapacity at 110%. Alpha links his mind to the console too, but he's hesitating. His paracapacity hovers at 98% as the connection begins, even with his own unintentional reluctance.

The soft fuzz wraps around his panicking mind, invaded with even more intensity than Zeta's glares. It's warm, though, and he reminds himself that a new pistil means a new experience. He'll be alright. His budding trust knows it.

Fluffy heat continues and the connection completes, both of them resting at a full 120% shortly. Their Franxx moves unabated, and as he feels it flex its arms, Alpha's comfort continues. Step, step, step.

Zeta's already at the gate, tapping her foot while Gamma grumbles something unintelligible across the voice connections. Theta and Epsilon are taking their first steps too, and Delta is a bit nervous wiggling her fingers.

Nana's image appears on their screens. "Focus on your connections, not your allies," she warns, cutting off the rest of the squadmates' voices, even though they're still visible.

"Eta... ?"

"Yes?"

Her image on the right side of the screen appears a lot more expressive than his last partner had, even with the visor. Alpha momentarily stares at it in wonder, somehow sensing her shyness even more this way- and he understands.

"Do you feel me at all?" he asks, very cautiously, not sure what his words mean even if he understands what he's asking.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

Alpha's not sure, either, and pauses for a moment to think. "How do I feel?"

She hums, thinking as well. "Creamy, but with tiny bumps."

The words wouldn't make sense if they weren't connected, he thinks. "I see," he hums until the fuzzy sensation vibrates, questioning him expectantly until he replies. "You feel soft and warm."

It's not a great description, but Eta's happiness floods his mind afterward anyway.

Their Franxx flexes its fingers more as Alpha gives the controls a test, bringing the strength in its right arm higher. Eta lifts it accordingly, bending its elbow toward its face. The way she adjusts the movement to whatever strength he shifts it to feels smooth as butter. He notes how Eta's agreement to the smoothness transmits as soon as he thinks of it.

The three other standard Franxx units are at very different levels of functioning. Theta and Epsilon appear hesitant to walk further, Delta and Beta are a bit unbalanced, while Zeta and Gamma lean against the wall just inside the door.

Eta refocuses him on their own connection again to let the others figure it out, somehow soothing him manually. They're both quiet, relaxing in the comfortable connection, only slightly paying attention to the other units now.

However, communications turn on again once the full group is gathered at the gate with stable connections. Obviously, the first thing that happens is someone speaking.

"Let's gooooo, I'm bored!"

"Delta," Beta's deep voice warns her, "Patience."

She mumbles something, naturally, but listens to him while Zeta snickers. "You won't be bored in a minute."

Gamma, too, snorts, but gets a response of Delta's usual annoyance. "Hey! I know that! I'm just saying."

Theta sighs, off to the side, and Alpha completely agrees. Their bickering might last forever, so Eta nudges Alpha to issue the order to open the gate. "Alright, let's get moving. Be ready for the Klaxosaurs."

This, of course, is met with two gleeful cheers, a pleased grunt, two hums of acknowledgement, and a 'woohoo'.

"Let's head out."


	2. Chapter 2

[ there's a visual ref of the whole squad for this, including the versions here of zeta/eta/theta - if you plug in "6dlAlan" after the / in imgur's url! thanks ffnet for not letting me put images in ): ]

* * *

The sun flares as the gate rises, the exterior of each Franxx reflecting it gloriously.

As the gate rises, Delta and Beta step in front of Gamma and Zeta, unsurprisingly. Beta seems competitive, despite the calm and mature voice. Naturally, Gamma and Zeta step forward too, and the four head out with a lot less fanfare than expected.

... there's just no klaxosaur outside.

Alpha has no idea why he expected one to be waiting just outside the door, given they aren't very patient. There's some stomping happening, but not here.

"The Moho-class is on the west side," Nana's image opened, "Squad 17 will step back on your arrival."

It's all the eight of them need to hear for Alpha to issue the order, mildly more confident than he was two minutes ago. Eta's fluttering happiness supports that.

Zeta sprints in that direction as soon as the order is given, and Delta follows suit. Her connection with Beta increased in competition. Eta and Theta follow behind them, but not as fast.

Squad 17 pulls back immediately, the klaxosaur chasing the leader - and for a moment, Alpha fears the worst as he freezes to the spot, as their leader holds up their spear in defense-

\- Zeta's Franxx is already in hot pursuit to the side, and Gamma's battle screech inside echoes through all of their communications. She rockets forward off the ground from jet propulsions, and proceeds to slam the spear through the klaxosaur's side - and it's knocked far off, the skidding leaving dust clouds behind.

Naturally, there's a gasp from one of Squad 17, but it's cut off by Gamma's triumphant laughter. "Didn't stand a chance!"

"They're strong... !" Epsilon stares with his and Theta's guard already down.

Sensing the tenseness through their connection, Eta coils her fluff around Alpha's mind. It's a bit too relaxing, but he still gets his spear realigned. "Don't worry about Zeta, she's strong." They have to catch up, so Eta carries him as fast as their Franxx can go.

The dust cloud in the distance will fade and reveal the klaxosaur any second, with how fast the wind is picking up. Eta's taking Alpha closer before it shoots out of the cloud. Theta has the same idea, but instead she and Epsilon stop at somewhat of a distance.

Already off guard, Zeta hurtles toward the dust cloud, even though Delta's far closer, with Beta raising the spear defensively while rushing-

\- and absolutely nothing happens within the following few seconds. Zeta skids to a stop, Gamma lowering their spear. Beta and Delta slow a bit, but keep their lance raised, ready for when it emerges.

The klaxosaur waits for the dust cloud to settle instead.

By that time, Eta and Alpha are the only ones still on their guard. The black spikes poke out from the dissipating cloud. Delta hums in amusement in unison with Zeta's growling. Beta lifts Delta's spear, Zeta crouches with Gamma holding their spear behind them.

Again, Eta senses Alpha's anxiety. He's hesitant to give an order with how close the two pairs are. He's hesitant to issue an order, when it could emerge any time.

It still doesn't move.

The dust cloud settles, revealing the klaxosaur, panting, tail swaying, but otherwise standing normally. Zeta rises, Delta takes a step back.

"Stay ready," Alpha warns. The others listen, falling back into anticipating postures... the atmosphere is unnaturally silent and tense.

Delta doesn't have patience, though. "I'm going in!" she huffs, ignoring Alpha's warning. Beta grumbles quietly after that, and Delta ignores that, too, starting to dash to the Klaxosaur's side.

Alpha growls, too. "Delta! Stay back!"

 _"Oh-"_

She can't stop now, so she ignores that too. This might end in disaster. She jumps upward, aiming to land on its back, but the klaxosaur pulls back before she lands. As it turns its head, Delta lands in front of its face. It opens its jaws, clearly preparing to lunge.

Theta doesn't wait, either, sighing while jetting in that direction as well.

"Listen to your leader!" Nana's voice shouts into their communications.

Alpha has to regain control here- "Delta, dodge left!"

Just as the klaxosaur thrusts its head forward and snaps its maw shut, Delta dodges to the left as ordered- but not without a sharp inhale of breath.

"Zeta, Gamma, the head!"

"On it."

As instructed, Zeta lunges at the head, spear ready to pierce, as the Klaxosaur opens its jaws again-

"Theta, the side!"

"Got it." Theta speeds to the right of its body, with Epsilon holding the spear.

"Epsilon, harpoon it!"

The spearhead ejects itself and barrels toward the klaxosaur's side, harshly stabbing in just as Gamma's spear strikes cleanly through the head. It's dragged toward Theta, with Zeta and Gamma standing on top with the lance still lodged in, nearly falling off in the motion.

Besides a shriek of apparent pain, the klaxosaur is fine. It skids again, shifting its weight to one side to drag Theta toward it. No core in its head, then.

"Bounce off!"

Theta lifts one leg as she hits its side, Epsilon pulling the spearhead out while they jump back before its momentum flings them over. Zeta jumps off to its other side right afterward.

"Delta, behind it, and wait. Zeta, front, and wait!"

Alpha slows to a stop when he and Eta reach the opposite side as Theta and Epsilon. Now that the squad's finally listening, he takes a breath while the klaxosaur crouches and turns its head toward Eta. It can't turn around and lunge at this angle quickly enough to stop them.

"Epsilon only, harpoon, count of three."

They all raise their spears while the Klaxosaur turns its back legs around. "Two."

Delta and Zeta ready themselves on their own. "One."

"-Shoot."

Epsilon's harpoon shoots forward at the same time Alpha's does, while Eta and Theta hold their Franxx steady. The klaxosaur, caught and held in the middle, screeches and thrashes, but the harpoons aren't budging. Eta's foothold starts to give in, and Epsilon's holding to the spot firmer.

"Delta, Zeta, jump up on its back!"

"Yesssss." Zeta hisses right away while bounding upward, Delta giggling while doing the same.

"Beta, Gamma, cleave down as they land!" Eta's struggling to hold her weapon still, curling down to maintain her balance. She's determined, but Alpha's uneasy again.

"Roger!"

The two Franxx land, the sharp lances stabbing into its back between two rows of spines toward the middle, only a little apart. The sharp ends slide in easily, sinking deeper when pushed down harder. The klaxosaur's resulting thrashing only allows Zeta and Delta's weapons to slice deeper. As they stand on the top of its back, the Klaxosaur sinks lower, the widening gash dramatically weakening it.

"Haahaaa- take that!" Gamma shouts, shoving the spear in with more force.

Beta grins, and Zeta grins more.

Delta bursts into sharp laughter - "Die!"

\- The gash stretches out, cracking down the middle of its body faster than either of the spears can move, splitting apart in two jagged halves.

This sends the spearheads back toward Eta and Theta, smacking Eta in the forehead and Theta falling backward. Zeta stumbles and falls off its back, while Delta falls forward to catch herself on her Franxx's arms instead.

The blue blood showers everywhere.

 _Tink, tink... tink._

The yellow core rolls to a stop in front of Zeta, half-covered in dark blue. "Have fun," she grunts, kicking the core toward Eta's foot. "You earned the honor."

Alpha stops staring at the core in a haze when Eta nudges him mentally. She pulls their Franxx upright and catches the rolling core on the end of their spear, the buzzing feeling of pride and triumph rippling around him. "You did so well."

Hm, maybe he has. He sighs, now that it's over.

Eta picks herself up, holds the spear down onto the core. She's warm, letting Alpha guide it up a bit, poking the tip of the spear into it and mashing it lightly into the ground.

"Good job, everyone. That's how things go when you listen."

"- Hey, that's rude." Eta pricks him mentally in their connection, and even physically, Alpha flinches.

"Yeah... this was our first fight, give us a break." Gamma grumbles.

"You did a lot of standing around for a leader." Zeta, too.

Alpha's internal sulking is hard for Eta to ignore. "You guys! Don't be rude, either!"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Shut up, Gamma." Delta gets up.

"Wh- I didn't even do anything!"

Have Theta and Epsilon even said anything this entire time? Alpha glances toward them. Theta's shaking her head, and Epsilon chuckles. "I guess this is to be expected."

Beta grunts. "Indeed."

That's when all of them fell silent, even after their first mission was an amazing success in the eyes of Squad 17.

"Let's just go back instead of bickering." Alpha sighs, while Eta curls up around Alpha internally. She's tired, too, lounging on him before the group heads back to disconnect and hop out.

Maybe Alpha should have said something else after they'd finished.

* * *

Eta's lingering fuzziness soothes Alpha's sour mood as they disconnect and climb out of the Franxx. She's tugging him out by his hand as he's looking down at his feet, nearly afraid of heights. Once out on the platform, he finally looks up- oh.

Zeta's crossing her arms with a distinctly unimpressed stare. Naturally, Alpha's surprise tilts him back, flinching, stepping backward and fearing he's about to fall off the platform- but Eta steadies him with a hand on his back. Expressing his gratitude has to wait, though.

First, he needs to recover - by standing tall, looking up into her eyes, nose up, and then clearing his throat.

Behind him, Eta sighs quietly, and Alpha's certain it's related to Zeta's obvious scrutiny.

Even when Zeta leans forward until she's no less than a hand's length away from his face, Alpha continues standing tall. There's heat rushing into his cheeks. Those blood-red eyes are far more intimidating from up close... reminding him how much he doesn't like seeing blood. Maybe he doesn't like seeing her eyes, either. It's hard to breathe when he's sure that if he exhales too fast, Zeta will feel that breath.

It's fine. He's fine.

\- Until Zeta huffs directly in his face, anyway. It's so sudden Alpha flinches back again, squeezing his eyes shut from the rush of air into his eyeballs. And now, he regrets trying to hold his own breath.

After blinking for longer than he wants to, his vision recovers enough to recognize Zeta's turning away already, waving her hand dismissively. She says nothing at all, leaving Alpha wondering if he really is unimpressive.

Eta stares at him until he notices her concern, reaching for his arm and curlking hers around it. "I still think you did well... she's just- like that."

He sighs. That's a very exaggerated attempt to comfort him. "I'll just do better next time."

"You'll be fine... okay?" Her other hand reaches down to slide her fingers through the gaps in his.

Will he, though? With how this all has started off, it doesn't seem like it. He keeps his mouth shut until Eta's uneasy staring gets the best of him, and he turns his head toward her, faking a small smile.

"I'll do my best."


End file.
